JP2007188226A - Digital multifunctional machine and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To temporarily inhibit or suppress the use of the function of an external interface or a copying machine relevant to a task whose processing can be suppressed, so as to suppress a load input, and prevent an overload state. <P>SOLUTION: When the load rate of a CPU exceeds a threshold, the traveling time of each task is referred to, and when the loads of a plurality of tasks are made high, the use of the function of an external interface or a copying machine relevant to a task whose processing can be suppressed is temporarily inhibited or suppressed so that a load input can be suppressed. When the total sum of loads reaches a threshold, the suppression or inhibition is released. As an embodiment, when the load of a network task is suppressed, band control to a specific protocol is instructed to an NIC, and a band is held down to print job communication to be transmitted from a PC so that an input load can be reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention can be applied to an apparatus capable of transmitting and receiving digital images, and is a technique particularly effective for a digital multi-function peripheral including a printer, a scanner, a fax (FAX), and the like.

  In the conventional technology, there is a technology that preferentially executes important processing by using a real-time function of the OS according to the task priority. However, since various functions are being added to digital multifunction peripherals (hereinafter referred to as MFP copiers) and the input sources of loads are diversifying, complex loads can be input to multiple tasks with high priority. As a result, the number of scenes in which the CPU load is overloaded is increasing.

For example, Patent Document 1 can be cited as a conventional example.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-240669

  For example, the MFP copier can execute a job such as print, transfer, and scan. In order to achieve this, the MFP copier has various external interfaces, but if the CPU is overloaded for a long time due to simultaneous input loads from these multiple interfaces, the response of the operation unit will be poor. It is necessary to prevent the CPU from falling into an overload state because problems such as failure or authentication using the network may occur.

  In order to achieve the above object, the digital multi-function peripheral according to claim 1 of the present invention periodically measures the CPU load, and when the CPU load exceeds a threshold value, it determines a high-load task and sets the device as the load input source. Use a configuration that can be restricted. This can prevent the CPU from falling into an overload state.

  By limiting the input device that causes the load before the CPU load is overloaded, it is possible to prevent the CPU from becoming overloaded, and the most important and basic functions such as user interface and authentication communication. It becomes possible to operate without delaying the operation. As a result, problems such as poor response of the operation unit and failure of authentication using the network are less likely to occur, and a more stable operation can be provided for the user.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image input / output device (data processing device) on which a controller unit as an electronic component according to the present invention is mounted. A local area network (600) is connected to a host computer (in this embodiment, a first host computer 601 and a second host computer 602).

  The image input / output system 100 includes a reader device (reader unit) 200 that performs image data reading processing, a printer device (printer unit) 300 that performs image data output processing, a keyboard that performs image data input / output operations, In addition, an operation unit 150 having a liquid crystal panel for displaying / setting image data and various functions, image data read by controlling the reader device 200, and code data received from the host computers 601 and 602 via the LAN 600 An image storage unit 160 that can store / save image data generated from the computer is mounted, and is configured by a control device (controller unit) 110 formed of a single electronic component that is connected to these components and controls the components. ing.

  The reader device 200 includes a document feeding unit 250 that transports document paper, and a scanner unit 210 that optically reads a document image and converts it into image data as an electric signal. A paper feed unit 310 having a plurality of paper feed cassettes to be accommodated, a marking unit (part) 320 for transferring / fixing image data onto recording paper, and a sort process and a stapling process on the printed recording paper, And a paper discharge unit (part) 330 for discharging the paper.

  The control device 110 controls the reader unit 200 to read image data of a document, and controls the printer unit 300 to output the image data to a recording sheet to provide a copy function. The scanner function converts image data read from the reader unit 200 into code data and transmits the code data to the host computers 601 and 602 via the network 600. Code data received from the host computer via the network 600 is converted into image data. It has a printer function for conversion and output to the printer unit 300, and other functional blocks.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing details of the reader unit 200 and the printer unit 300.

  In the reader unit 200, the original sheets stacked on the original feeding unit 250 are sequentially fed onto the platen glass 211 one by one from the top in accordance with the stacking order, and after a predetermined reading operation is completed by the scanner unit 210, As for the read original paper, the original on the platen glass 211 is discharged to the discharge tray 219. When the original paper is conveyed onto the platen glass 211, the lamp 212 is turned on, then the movement of the optical unit 213 is started, and the original paper is irradiated and scanned from below. The reflected light from the original paper is guided to a CCD image sensor (hereinafter referred to as “CCD”) 218 via a plurality of mirrors 214, 215, 216 and a lens 217, and the scanned original image is read by the CCD 218. Read. The image data read by the CCD 218 is transferred to the controller unit 110 after predetermined processing.

  When the document feeding unit 250 has a document feeding reading function, the document sheets stacked on the document feeding unit 250 pass through the document feeding reading position 240 at a constant speed. In this case, the optical unit 213 moves to the document flow reading position 240, irradiates the document conveyed at a constant speed by the lamp 212, reads the image by the CCD 218 as needed, generates image data, and transfers the image data to the controller unit 110.

  Next, in the printer unit 300, a laser beam corresponding to the image data output from the controller unit 110 is issued from a laser issuing unit 322 driven by a laser driver 321, and the photosensitive drum 323 is electrostatically charged according to the laser beam. A latent image is formed, and a developer is attached to a portion of the electrostatic latent image by the developing device 324.

  On the other hand, recording paper is fed from any of the cassette 311, the cassette 312, the cassette 313, the cassette 314, and the manual paper feed stage 315 at the timing synchronized with the start of laser light irradiation, and is conveyed to the transfer unit 325 by the conveyance path 331. Then, the developer adhering to the photosensitive drum 323 is transferred to the recording paper. The recording sheet on which the image data is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 327 by the conveying belt 326, and the image data is fixed on the recording sheet by the heating / pressurizing process in the fixing unit 327. The recording paper that has passed through the fixing unit 327 passes through the transport path 335 and the transport path 334 and is discharged to the paper discharge bin 328. When the print surface is reversed and discharged to the paper discharge bin 328, the recording paper is guided to the transport path 336 and the transport path 338, from which the recording paper is transported in the reverse direction, passes through the transport path 337 and the transport path 334, and is discharged. It is discharged to a paper bottle 328. Although not shown in the figure, it is possible to mount a paper discharge unit instead of the paper discharge bin. The paper discharge unit bundles the discharged recording paper, sorts the recording paper, and staples the sorted recording paper. And so on.

  When image data is recorded on both sides of a recording sheet, after passing through the fixing unit 327, the recording sheet is guided from the conveying path 336 to the conveying path 333 by the flapper 329, and then the recording sheet is conveyed in the reverse direction. The flapper 329 is guided to the conveyance path 338 and the refeed conveyance path 332. The recording sheet guided to the refeed conveyance path 332 passes through the conveyance path 331 and is fed to the transfer unit 325 in the same manner as described above.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing details of the control device (controller unit) 110.
That is, the main controller 111 incorporates a CPU 112, a bus controller 113, and functional blocks including various controller circuits described later, and is connected to the ROM 114 via the ROM I / F 115, and to the DRAM 116 via the DRAM I / F 117. Connected, connected to the codec 119 via the codec I / F 118, connected to the network controller 121 via the network I / F 123, and performs a predetermined control operation with the LAN 600 via the connector 122.

  In the ROM 114, various control programs executed by the CPU 112 of the main controller 111 and calculation data are confirmed. The DRAM 116 is used as a work area for the CPU 112 to operate and an area for storing image data. The codec 119 compresses the raster image data stored in the DRAM 116 by a known compression method such as MH / MR / MMR / JBIG, and decompresses the compressed data into a raster image. An SRAM 120 is connected to the codec 119, and the SRAM 120 is used as a temporary work area for the codec 119.

  The main controller 111 is connected to the scanner I / F 140 via the scanner bus 141, connected to the printer I / F 145 via the printer bus 146, and further connected to an expansion board via a general-purpose high-speed bus 125 such as a PCI bus. It is connected to an expansion connector 124 and an input / output control unit (I / O control unit) 126 for connection.

  The I / O control unit 126 is equipped with two channels of an asynchronous serial communication controller 127 for transmitting and receiving control commands to and from the reader unit 200 and the printer unit 300. The serial communication controller 127 is an I / O controller. It is connected to the scanner I / F 140 and the printer I / F 145 via the bus 128.

  The scanner I / F 140 is connected to the scanner connector 142 via the first asynchronous serial I / F 143 and the first video I / F 144, and the scanner connector 142 is further connected to the scanner unit 210 of the reader unit 200. Yes. The scanner I / F 140 performs desired binarization processing and scaling processing in the main scanning direction and / or sub-scanning direction on the image data received from the scanner unit 210, and is sent from the scanner unit 210. A control signal is generated based on the video signal, and the image data is transferred to the main controller 111 via the scanner bus 141.

  The printer I / F 145 is connected to the printer connector 147 via the second asynchronous serial I / F 148 and the second video I / F 149, and the printer connector 147 is further connected to the marking unit 320 of the printer unit 300. Has been. Then, the printer I / F 145 performs smoothing processing on the image data output from the main controller 111 and outputs the image data to the marking unit 320. Further, the printer I / F 145 is generated based on the video signal sent from the marking unit 320. A control signal is output to the printer bus 146.

  The CPU 112 operates based on a control program read from the ROM 114 via the ROM I / F 115, and interprets, for example, PDL (page description language) data received from the first and second host computers 601 and 602. The raster image data is expanded.

  The bus controller 113 controls data transfer input / output from / to an external device connected to the scanner I / F 140, printer I / F 145, and other expansion connectors 124, and the like. Controls DMA data transfer. That is, for example, the above-described data transfer between the DRAM 116 and the codec 119, the data transfer from the scanner unit 210 to the DRAM 116, the data transfer from the DRAM 116 to the marking unit 320, and the like are controlled by the bus controller 113 and transferred by DMA. The

  The I / O control unit 126 is connected to the panel I / F 132 via the LCD controller 131 and the key input I / F 130, and the panel I / F 132 is connected to the operation unit 150. The I / O control unit 126 is connected to an EEPROM 135 as a nonvolatile memory, is connected to a hard disk drive (HDD) 162 capable of writing / reading image data via an E-IDE connector 161, and It is connected to a real time clock module 133 that updates / stores the date and time managed in the device. The real time clock module 133 is connected to the backup battery 134 and backed up by the backup battery 134.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the internal details of the main controller 111.
The processor core 401 is connected to a system bus bridge (SBB) 402 via a 64-bit processor bus (SC bus). The SBB 402 is a 4 × 4 64-bit crossbar switch, and is connected to a memory controller 403 that controls an SDRAM or ROM including a cache memory in addition to the processor core 401 via a dedicated local bus (MC bus). The G bus 404, which is a graphic bus, and the B bus 405, which is an IO bus, are connected to a total of four buses. The SBB 402 is designed to ensure simultaneous parallel connection between these four modules as much as possible. A data compression / decompression unit (CODEC) 418 is also connected via a CODEC I / F.

  The G bus 404 is cooperatively controlled by a G bus arbiter (GBA) 406 and is connected to a scanner / printer controller (SPC) 408 for connecting to a scanner or a printer. The B bus 405 is cooperatively controlled by a B bus arbiter (BBA) 407. In addition to the SPC 408, a power management unit (PMU) 409, an interrupt controller (IC) 410, and a serial interface controller (SIC) 411 using UART. USB controller 412, parallel interface controller (PIC) 413 using IEEE1284, LAN controller (LANC) 414, general-purpose input / output controller (MISC) 415, and PCI bus interface (PCIC) 416.

  The B bus arbiter 407 is an arbitration for cooperatively controlling the B bus 405. The B bus 405 receives a bus use request for the B bus 405, and after arbitration, is given to one master selected for use permission. Is prohibited from performing bus access. The arbitration method has three levels of priority, and a plurality of masters are assigned to each priority.

  The interrupt controller 410 accumulates interrupts from the functional blocks and the controller unit 110 described above, and redistributes them to the controllers 408, 411-416 and non-maskable interrupts (NMI) supported by the CPU 401.

  The power management unit 409 manages the power for each functional block, and monitors the power consumption of the controller unit 110 as an electronic component composed of one chip. That is, the controller unit 110 is composed of a large-scale ASIC (application-specific IC) with a built-in CPU 401. For this reason, when all the functional blocks operate simultaneously, a large amount of heat is generated, and the controller unit 110 itself is There is a risk of being destroyed.

  Therefore, in order to prevent such a situation, the power consumption is managed for each functional block, and the power consumption amount of each functional block is integrated in the power management unit 409 as a power management level. Then, the power management unit 409 adds up the power consumption amounts of the functional blocks, and collectively monitors the power consumption amounts of the functional blocks so that the power consumption amount does not exceed the limit power consumption.

  The G bus arbiter 406 controls the G bus 404 in a coordinated manner by a central arbitration method, and has a dedicated request signal and a permission signal for each bus master. In addition, as a method of giving priority to the bus master, all bus masters have the same priority, a fair arbitration mode in which the bus right is granted fairly, and a priority arbitration mode in which the bus is preferentially used by any one bus master Either of these can be specified.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation unit 150.

  A user interface 500 can set various copy modes (for example, duplex setting, group, sort, staple output, etc.). These copy mode setting means may be hard keys or soft keys displayed on the touch panel. Reference numeral 501 denotes a start button, which is started when the button is pressed.

  FIG. 6 shows a document reading setting screen displayed on the user interface 500 when the “continuous reading mode” for repeatedly reading and storing the document is selected as the copy mode after the copy process is started by pressing the start button 501. This is an example of 502. The original reading setting screen 502 is provided with a “confirm” button 503 for entering a mode in which images read up to that time are displayed and an “end reading” button 504 for collectively outputting images read so far. Yes.

  FIG. 7 shows a read image confirmation screen that is displayed when the “Confirm” button 503 is pressed on the original reading setting screen 502. The area 505 displays the total number of pages of images accumulated so far and the currently displayed page. The page number is displayed. Reference numerals 506 and 507 denote “page move” buttons for moving the pages of the accumulated images. When the user presses 506, the user moves to the previous page, and when the user presses 507, the user moves to the next page. Reference numerals 508 and 509 denote “enlarge / reduce” buttons for enlarging / reducing the confirmation image. When the user presses 508, the confirmation image is reduced, and when the user presses 509, the confirmation image is enlarged. Reference numeral 510 denotes an accumulated image confirmation screen on which the contents of the page displayed in 505 are displayed. Reference numeral 511 denotes a “reread” button. When the “reread” button 511 is pressed, the page displayed at that time is stored, and the image confirmation screen is closed. When the image confirmation screen is closed, the screen returns to the original reading setting screen 502 so that the original can be read. At this time, the document reading is executed in the reread mode. Reference numeral 512 denotes a “close” button. When the “close” button 512 is pressed, the image confirmation screen is closed. When the original confirmation screen is closed, the original reading setting screen 502 is displayed again, and the original can be read. At this time, the document reading is executed in the continuous reading mode.

  Note that the above-described continuous reading mode refers to storing and storing image data again from the end (final image) in which the read image data is stored and stored, and storing all image data stored and stored during processing as a set. This means that the data is handled as image data, and the re-read mode means that specific image data stored and stored is replaced with newly read image data. In either case, the document reading instruction is performed by pressing the start button 501.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the continuous read copy process.

  In step S1001, it is determined whether or not a start instruction has been given due to the start button 501 being pressed. If the start button 501 is not pressed, the determination is repeated until the start button 501 is pressed. If the start button 501 is pressed, the process advances to step S1002 to check whether “continuous reading mode” is selected. If the “continuous reading mode” is not set in S1002, the process proceeds to S1012 and a normal copy process is performed and the process is terminated. If the “read image confirmation mode” is set, the process advances to step S1003 to execute a document reading process of reading a bundle of documents set on the automatic paper feeder (DF) or reading a document placed on a pressure plate. To do. When the process ends, an instruction from the operation unit 150 becomes possible. In step S1004, it is determined whether an instruction for image confirmation processing (preview processing) stored in the image storage unit 160 has been issued. If execution of the image confirmation process is instructed, the process proceeds to S1005, where the image confirmation process (preview process) is performed, and then the process proceeds to S1006. If there is no instruction to execute image confirmation processing, the process advances to step S1006. In S1006, it is determined whether or not “re-read” is instructed. The re-reading instruction is performed in the preview process of S1005. When the re-reading instruction is given, the image storage location of the page to be re-read is stored. If re-reading is instructed, the process proceeds to S1007. If re-reading is not instructed, the process proceeds to S1008. In step S1007, image data discarding (deleting) processing of the page stored when the re-reading instruction is issued is executed. Thereafter, the process returns to S1003 to execute the original reading process, and replace the image data of the reread target page. The original reading process S1003 includes a reading process for all originals set on the automatic paper feeder (DF), a reading process for originals placed on the pressure plate, and a specified number of sheets from the original set on the automatic paper feeder. Can be performed, and at the time of re-reading, it is specified that the number of read pages is one page. In step S1008, an instruction to stop the continuous reading process is determined. If there is an instruction to cancel in S1008, the process proceeds to S1009, and after executing the read image discarding process S1009 for discarding all the image data read and accumulated so far, the copy process is terminated. If there is no cancel instruction in S1008, the process proceeds to S1010. In step S1010, a read end instruction is determined. If the end of reading is instructed in step S1010, the process advances to step S1011 to execute a read image printing process for printing all the image data read up to that point, and then the copy process ends. If the reading end is not supported in S1010, the process proceeds to S1013 to determine the reading instruction. If there is an instruction to read in S1013, the process returns to S1003 to execute the original reading process. If there is no read instruction in S1013, the process returns to S1004. That is, when there is no instruction from the operation unit 160, the instruction waits for any of image confirmation, re-reading, cancellation, reading end, and reading.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the document reading process.

  In S2001, the state of the automatic paper feeder (DF) is determined. When the DF is open, the process proceeds to S2006, the original reading process from the pressure plate is performed, and the process is terminated. When the DF is closed, the process proceeds to S2002, and it is determined whether or not a document is set on the DF. If no document is set in the DF, the process proceeds to S2006, where the document reading process from the pressure plate is performed, and the process ends. If a document is set in the DF, the process proceeds to S2003, and it is determined whether or not a re-read process is instructed. If it is determined in S2003 that re-reading is instructed, the process proceeds to S2004, and the image reading process for one page from the document set in the DF is terminated. If it is determined in S2003 that re-reading is not instructed, the process proceeds to S2005, where all pages of the document set in the DF are read, and the process ends.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart of accumulated image confirmation (preview) processing.

  In step S3001, it is determined whether an image storage destination for checking the stored image has been specified. The image data read repeatedly in the continuous reading copy process is managed under the job management unit 902 of the document management unit 900 that is the image storage destination used by the continuous reading copy process being executed. The job management unit 902 Is specified so that it is possible to trace from the first page to the last page of the image data read and accumulated so far. If there is no designation in S3001, the process is terminated. That is, the preview process is not executed. If specified in step S3001, the process advances to step S3002 to specify the first page of the stored image. In S3003, image data to be displayed on the accumulated image confirmation screen 510 is generated from the accumulated image data. In this embodiment, image data is generated immediately before being displayed on the accumulated image confirmation screen 510. However, image data for displaying the accumulated image confirmation screen is generated at the time of reading and accumulating the document, and is associated with the original image and stored externally. It may be stored in the unit 160. In S3004, the image data generated in S3003 is displayed on the accumulated image confirmation screen 510. In step S3005, an input instruction is waited, and the input instruction is looped and waited. In step S3006, it is determined whether an instruction to display the next page has been issued. If an instruction to display the next page has been issued, the process advances to step S3007. In S3007, it is determined whether the stored image data is at the end, and if it is at the end, the process returns to S3005 and waits for an input instruction again. If it is determined in S3007 that it is not the tail end, the process proceeds to S3003 to generate image data for displaying the stored image confirmation screen of the specified page, and the process is repeated. In step S3008, it is determined whether an instruction to display the previous page has been issued. If an instruction to display the previous page is given, the process advances to step S3009 to determine whether the stored image data is the head. If it is determined that the head, the process returns to S3005 and waits for an input instruction again. If it is determined that it is not the head, the process advances to S3003 to generate image data for displaying the stored image confirmation screen of the specified page, and the process is repeated. In step S3010, it is determined whether an instruction to reduce the image displayed on the stored image confirmation screen 510 has been issued. If it is determined that reduction display has been instructed, the process advances to S3003 to generate image data for displaying the stored image confirmation screen of the specified page, and the process is repeated. If there is no reduction display instruction, the process advances to step S3011 to determine whether an enlargement display instruction has been issued. If it is determined in S3011 that an enlargement display instruction has been issued, if specified, the process proceeds to S3003 to generate image data for displaying the accumulated image confirmation screen of the specified page, and the process is repeated. If there is no instruction for enlarged display, the process advances to step S3012 to determine whether an instruction for rereading an image has been given. If an instruction to re-read an image is issued in S3012, the process advances to S3013 to store (hold) identification information for specifying where the currently displayed page is managed in the document management unit 900, and the process ends. The information held here is transmitted to the above-described image reading process, and the re-reading process is executed. If there is no re-reading instruction in S3012, the process returns to S3005 and waits for an input instruction.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an internal software structure of the control device 110. Reference numeral 700 denotes controller software, which includes a protocol interpretation unit 701, a job control unit 702, and a device unit 703. The protocol interpretation unit 701 interprets commands (protocols) sent from the host computer 601 and the operation unit 150 via each interface (411-414), and requests the job control unit 702 to execute a job. . The job control unit 702 executes various jobs based on requests from the protocol interpretation unit. The device unit 703 includes driver software that controls each unit constituting the image input / output system 100, and is used when the job control unit 702 executes a job.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the job control unit 702.

  In the figure, 700 is controller software, 701 is a protocol interpretation unit, 702 is a job control unit, and 703 is a device unit. The job control unit 702 includes a job generation unit 800, a job processing unit 810, a document processing unit 820, a page processing unit 830, a band processing unit 840, and a device allocation unit 850. The job processing unit 810 includes a job management unit 811, a binder management unit 812, and a document management unit 813. The device unit 703 can include a plurality of devices such as a first device 851, a second device 852, and a third device 853.

  A series of operation requests sent from the host computers 601 and 602 and the operation unit 150 are sent via the interfaces (411 to 414) in the form of commands (protocols). The sent command is interpreted by the protocol interpretation unit 701 and then sent to the job control unit 702. At this point, the command is converted into a form that can be understood by the job control unit 702.

  The job generation unit 800 generates a job 814. The job 814 includes various jobs such as a copy job, a print job, a scan job, and a fax job. The protocol interpreted by the protocol interpreter 701 includes, for example, various setting information such as the name of the document to be printed, the number of copies to be printed, and the designation of the output destination paper discharge tray, and the print data itself (PDL data). Etc. are included. The job 814 is sent to the job processing unit 810 for processing. The job processing unit 810 has settings related to the entire binder, such as a job management unit 811 that performs settings related to the entire job, such as the output order of a plurality of binders that constitute a job, and an output order of a plurality of documents that constitute the binder. A binder management unit 812 and a document management unit 813 for making settings related to the entire document such as the output order of a plurality of pages constituting the document, and settings and processing related to the entire job 814 are performed.

  Further, the job processing unit 810 divides the job 814 other than the settings and processing related to the entire job 814 into the binder 815 that is a smaller work unit constituting the job 814, and the binder 815 other than the settings and processing related to the entire binder 815. Is divided into documents 816, which are units of smaller work that constitutes. The document 816 is associated with the input document 821 on a one-to-one basis, and the input document 821 is converted into an output document 822 by the document processing unit 820. For example, when considering a scan job in which a bundle of documents is read by a scanner and converted into a plurality of image data, an input document 821 describes settings and operation procedures related to the bundle of documents, and a plurality of image data. An output document 822 contains the setting and operation procedures. A document processing unit 820 has a role of converting a bundle of paper into a plurality of image data.

  The document processing unit 820 performs conversion processing from the input document 821 in units of documents to the output document 822, and divides the input page 831 that is a unit of smaller work except for setting and processing related to the entire document, and the page processing unit 830. Request processing. This is exactly the same as when the job processing unit 815 is devoted to processing in units of jobs and generates the binder 815 and the document 816 for more detailed work. Specifically, the setting and operation in units of documents relate to page order such as page rearrangement, designation of double-sided printing, addition of a cover, and OHP insertion.

  The page processing unit 830 performs conversion processing from the input page 831 to the output page 832 in page units. For example, in the case of the scan job described above, the input page 831 describes various settings such as the reading resolution and reading direction (landscape / portrait) and the procedure, and the output page 832 stores the image data storage location. Etc. Settings and procedures are written.

  Up to this point, we have explained that the job unit is gradually reduced so that it can be handled in page units. If an expensive system can have a page memory for one page, the job may be subdivided and processed in units of pages. However, in reality, there is a system that processes the job 814 with a memory (band memory) for several lines when the page memory for one page cannot be provided due to a problem such as memory cost. In such a case, the conversion process is performed by dividing the page into bands, which are finer units. The input band 841, the band processing unit 840, and the output band 842 are the same as those in the page.

  The job processing unit 810, the document processing unit 820, the page processing unit 830, and the band processing unit 840 all use various physical devices that make up the image input / output system 100 when processing proceeds. Naturally, device conflict occurs when a plurality of processing units work simultaneously, and the device allocation unit 850 mediates the competition. The first to third devices 851 to 853 shown in the figure as examples are logical devices assigned to the respective processing units by the device assigning unit 850. For example, a page memory, a band memory, a document feeding unit 250, A marking unit 320 engine, a scanner unit 210, and the like are conceivable.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a management structure of the document management unit 900 that manages image data stored in the image storage unit 160.

  The document management unit 900 includes a folder management unit 901, a job management unit 902, a binder management unit 903, a document management unit 904, and a page management unit 905, each having management information (attribute value). The document management unit 900 includes one or a plurality of folder management units 901, and management information of the folder management unit 901 is stored. The folder management unit 901 includes one or a plurality of job management units 902, and stores management information of the job management unit 902. The job management unit 902 includes one or a plurality of binder management units 903, and management information of the binder management unit 902 is stored. Further, the job management unit 902 can store / save attribute values stored in the job management unit 811 with information necessary for the operation of the job 814 processed by the job control unit 702. The binder management unit 903 includes one or a plurality of document management units 904 and stores management information of the document management unit 904. Further, the binder management unit 903 can store / save attribute values stored in the binder management unit 812 with information necessary for the operation of the binder 815 processed in the job control unit 702. The document management unit 904 includes one or a plurality of page management units 905 and stores management information of the page management unit 905. Further, the document management unit 904 can store / save the attribute value stored in the document management unit 813 processed by the job control unit 702 and the attribute value of the output document 822 processed by the document processing unit 820. it can. A page 905 includes one page of image data read by the scanner, one page of image data developed from the PDL transmitted from the host computer, and one page of data received by FAX. It is associated with image data. Further, the page management unit 905 can store / save the attribute value of the output page 832 processed by the page processing unit 830 of the job control unit 702. That is, it is possible to reproduce the job 814 submitted at the time of image accumulation from the information stored in the document management unit 900 and the image data stored in the image storage unit 160. It is also possible to perform operations different from the job at the time of submission by resetting the stored information.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a copy job that is one of the jobs 814 executed by the control device 110.

  A series of operation requests sent from the host computers 601 and 602 and the operation unit 150 are sent via the interfaces (411 to 414) in the form of commands (protocols). The sent command is interpreted by the protocol interpretation unit 701 and sent to the job control unit 702. At this point, the command is converted into a form that can be understood by the job control unit. The job generation unit 800 interprets the received command, generates a copy job 1001, and requests control. The copy job 1001 has a function for realizing a copy operation, and generates a scan job 1002, an image agent job 1003, and a print job 1006, and realizes copy processing by controlling these operations. The image agent job 1003 requests the image agent binder 1004, the image agent binder 1004 requests the image agent document 1005, etc., and controls the operations of each of the detailed units. The image agent document 1006 generates an image document 1011 that is an output document of the document processing unit (paper → image) 1010. The generated image document 1011 is transmitted to the scan job 1002 and the print job 1006 via the image agent document 1005, the image agent binder 1004, the image agent job 1003, and the copy job 1001.

  The scan job 1002 generates a document processing unit (paper → image) 1010 after generating a scanned paper document 1009 that is an input document of the document processing unit (paper → image) 1010. At this time, the scanned document 1009 of the input document and the image document 1011 of the output document are transmitted to the document processing unit (paper → image) 1010. Further, the scan job 1002 requests processing from the document processing unit (paper → image) 1010 to control the operation. In the scan job 1002, the job processing unit 810 performs settings and processing related to the entire scan job 1002 and settings and processing related to the binder. In the scan job 1002, since one scan operation can be controlled by the configuration of one job, one binder, and one document from the physical structures of the scanner unit 210 and the scanner document unit 250, in this embodiment, the binder 815, The document 816 is omitted.

  In the scan paper document 1009, information related to an original is managed as an attribute, and in the image document 1011, information related to image data as a read result is managed as an attribute. Based on these attributes, a document processing unit (paper → image) 1010 controls conversion from a scanned paper document 1009 that is an input document to an image document 1011 that is an output document. A document processing unit (paper → image) 1010 performs only processing in units of documents, and more detailed work is performed by a scanned paper page 1017, a page processing unit (paper → image) 1018, and an image page 1019 which are small work units. Is called. A scan paper document 1009 sequentially generates scan paper 1014 corresponding to the number of documents. When the scan paper 1014 is generated, an identifier is added and registered in the scanner paper management unit 1016 that controls the processing order of the document, and then the scan paper page 1017 is generated. The scanned paper page 1017 corresponds to the front page / back page of the document. When the document is a double-sided document, two scanned paper pages 1017 are generated for one scanned paper 1014. The scanner paper management unit 1016 determines the processing order of the scanned paper page 1017 based on the identifier added to the scanned paper 1014 and the device specifications (document reading order, etc.). The scan paper page 1017 manages information about each page of the document, and the image page 1019 generated by the image document 1011 manages information about the read image data of each page. A page processing unit (paper → image) 1018 controls conversion from a scanned paper page 1017 that is an input page to an image page 1019 that is an output page. Further, the page processing unit (paper → image) 1018 grasps a sequence for controlling an actual scanner device, and issues a document reading operation (by issuing an engine control command prepared in the scanner device control unit 1023). (Scanning operation) is controlled. Further, by setting and controlling the attributes managed in the scan paper page 1017 and the image page 1019 in the image processing unit 1025a, the document is stored in the image storage unit 160 as image data. The stored image data is managed by the document management unit 900, and operations such as reading, duplication, movement, and deletion can be performed via the document management unit 900. The image processing units 1025a and 1025b include controls such as resolution conversion and code conversion.

  On the other hand, the print job 1006 is divided into a print binder 1007 which is a smaller work unit except for settings and processes related to the entire job, and a print document 1008 which is a smaller work unit other than the settings and processes related to the entire binder. And control settings and processing related to the entire print processing. A print document 1008 generates a document processing unit (image → paper) 1012 after generating a print paper document 1013 which is an output document of the document processing unit (image → paper) 1012. At this time, an image document 1011 of the input document and a print paper document 1013 of the output document are transmitted to the document processing unit (image → paper) 1012. Further, the print document 1008 requests processing from the document processing unit (image → paper) 1012 to control the operation. The print paper document 1013 manages information related to print output as attributes, and the image document 1011 manages information related to image data as attributes. Based on these attributes, the document processing unit (image → paper) 1012 controls conversion from an image document 1011 that is an input document to a print paper document 1013 that is an output document. A document processing unit (image → paper) 1012 performs only processing in units of documents, and finer work is performed by an image page 1019, a page processing unit (image → paper) 1020, and a print paper page 1021, which are small work units. Is called.

  The print paper document 1013 sequentially generates as many print papers 1015 as the number of sheets to be printed out. When the print paper 1015 is generated, an identifier is added and registered in the printer paper management unit 1022 that controls the print processing order, and then the print paper page 1021 is generated. The print paper page 1021 corresponds to the front page / back page of the output paper, and two print paper pages 1021 are generated for one print paper 1015 during duplex printing. The printer paper management unit 1022 determines the processing order of the print paper page 1021 based on the identifier added to the print paper 1015 and the device specifications (such as the internal circulation number and the paper control order at the time of duplex output). Information relating to each page to be printed is managed in the print paper page 1021, and information relating to image data of each page is managed in the image page 1019. A page processing unit (image → paper) 1020 controls conversion from an image page 1019 that is an input page to a print paper page 1021 that is an output page. The page processing unit (image → paper) 1020 grasps a sequence for controlling an actual printer device, and issues a print operation (printing) by issuing an engine control command prepared in the printer device control unit 1024. Control). Further, by setting and controlling the attributes managed in the image page 1019 and the print paper page 1021 in the image processing unit 1025b, the image data stored in the image storage unit 160 is printed on the printing paper.

  By entrusting control to a processing unit, which is a smaller work unit, by such a series of operations, a copy operation can be realized.

  FIG. 15 is an excerpt of an example of attribute storage in the document management 900 that is performed when a copy job is executed that could not be described in FIG. As described above (FIG. 13), the document management unit 900 includes a folder management unit 901, a job management unit 902, a binder management unit 903, a document management unit 904, and a page management unit 905, each of which includes management information (attribute value). have. The attribute values stored in the job management unit 811 that are information necessary for the operation of the job 814 processed in the job control unit 702 are stored / saved in the job management unit 902 of the document management unit 900 by the image agent job 1003. The attribute values stored in the binder management unit 812, which are information necessary for the operation of the binder 815 processed in the job control unit 702, are stored / saved in the binder management unit 903 of the document management unit 900 by the image agent binder 1004. The attribute values stored in the document management unit 813 processed by the job control unit 702 and the attribute values of the output document 822 processed by the document processing unit 820 are managed by the image document 1011 corresponding to the output document. Doki of part 900 The attribute value of the output page 832 stored / saved in the document management unit 904 and processed by the page processing unit 830 of the job control unit 702 is transferred to the page management unit 905 of the document management unit 900 by the image page 1019 corresponding to the output page. Stored / saved.

  Next, details of characteristic portions of the present invention will be described.

<Description of CPU load state determination means>
(Comment: CPU load state determination means for determining whether the load state of the CPU is normal load or high load)
Here, means for determining the load state of the CPU 112 of the controller unit of FIG. 3 will be described.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the CPU load state determination process in this embodiment.

  It is determined whether the percentage of CPU load obtained by CPU load measurement (S5001) exceeds a set threshold value (T1) (S5002). If it is determined that the load is high (S5003), load information (L1) is determined. Record as "high load" (S5005). When it is determined that the load is normal (S5004), the load information (L1) is recorded as “normal load” (S5005). The load information (L2) at the time of the previous measurement and the load information (L1) at the time of the current measurement are compared to determine whether the state has changed (S5006). A restriction start notification (S5007) is sent to the “device use restriction processing unit”, and when it changes to “normal load”, a restriction release notification (S5008) to the “device use restriction processing unit” described later in detail is made. . After the load information (L1) measured this time is saved to the load information (L2) at the previous measurement (S5009), the process returns to the top of the flow and proceeds to CPU load measurement (S5001) to determine the CPU load state. Will be repeated.

  Here, as the simplest embodiment of S5001 for measuring the CPU load, there is a method of measuring the accumulated travel time per unit time of the idle task. There are various known means for measuring the CPU load, and the present embodiment is not based on the CPU load measurement method, so only this level of explanation will be given.

<Description of task running ratio recording means>
(Comment: Task running ratio recording means to regularly record the running ratio of each task)
As a simple example of measuring the running ratio of each task, the time difference between when the OS dispatches a task waiting for execution and makes a transition to the execution state and when the task that has entered the execution state makes a transition to the wait state Is cumulatively added to the task travel time recording section of the task management information section, and checked and cleared for each unit time, the cumulative travel time per unit time of each task can be recorded. FIG. 17 shows an example of recording the running time per unit time of each task. Reference numeral 5100 denotes an example of a task management table list that records the status and history of each task. Reference numeral 5101 denotes a list head of a task management information list, from which 5102 and 5103 and each task management table can be traced. The information in the task management table is shown as 5110. Since the accumulated travel time 5111 per unit time is recorded in each task management table, after that, if the accumulated travel time of each task is divided by the measurement unit time, The running ratio of each task can be obtained as a percentage. FIG. 18 is an example in which the results of measuring the task running ratio are tabulated. The means for obtaining the running ratio of the task has been described in a simple embodiment. As a result, the running ratio of each task as shown in FIG. 18 is obtained, and the task 5201 having the highest running ratio (high load) can be obtained. Any method may be used, and there are known means for measuring the task running ratio. Since this embodiment is not based on the task running ratio technique, only this level will be described.

<Explanation of means for restricting and canceling use of load cause device for high load task>
(Comment: When the CPU load state judging means (a) detects that the CPU has shifted to a high load state, the task running ratio recording means (b) causes an input load of the task with the highest running ratio. (Means for restricting the use of the device, means for canceling the use restriction performed in (c) when it is detected by the CPU load state determining means in (a) that the device has transitioned to the normal load state)
The CPU load state determination unit (FIG. 16) described above notifies the device usage restriction processing unit that the CPU is heavily loaded. The device use restriction process is described in a flowchart in FIG. First, the device usage restriction processing unit waits for a notification from the CPU load state determination unit (S5501), and when the notification is received, determines whether the transition is made to the high load or the normal load based on the notification content. If it is determined that the load has changed to a high load (S5503), the task running ratio recording means described above determines the task with the highest load (S5503). Using the task ID determined in S5503 as a key, a correspondence table between a task and its load input source device is searched to identify the load input source device (S5504).

  FIG. 20 illustrates an example of a table that associates a task with a device that is strongly related to the load of the task as a device control table.

  Each task is registered in the task column 5601, and the device most strongly related to the load of each task is registered in the device column 5602. A processing function for restricting the device is registered in the restriction processing function column 5603, and a processing function for releasing the restriction is registered in the restriction releasing processing function column 5604. . The restriction execution flag column 5605 is used to set a restriction execution flag for the row while the restriction is being executed, and to determine a restriction release target.

  In the example of FIG. 20, it can be determined from the device column 5602 that the device strongly related to the load of the network processing task (task ID: 5) is the network I / F. This network I / F corresponds to the network I / F 123 in the controller of FIG. Further, as shown in the control column 5603 of FIG. 20, a processing function for restricting use of the corresponding device is registered in the correspondence table, and a processing function for canceling the limitation is registered in the control cancellation column 5604. When the use restriction is applied to the network interface, a function for instructing the network controller to instruct the bandwidth restriction of the print job communication is registered and executed, and the restriction execution flag 5605 is flagged. Record that the limit is being enforced.

  In the case of a task for which there is no device strongly related to the load, the device name is not registered in the device control table. In this case, the table search is not hit and the restriction process is not performed.

  When the load input source device is specified in S5504 of FIG. 19 and there is a device that can be restricted (S5505), use restriction is performed on the corresponding device (S5506). Since a specific example of the use restriction to the corresponding device will be described later, a description thereof will be omitted here.

  If the transition is made to the normal state in S5502 of FIG. 19, the use restriction is released for the device that has already been used (S5507).

<Description of Band Control Notification Unit>
(Comment: If it is a network processing task, the bandwidth control notification means for notifying the network controller of the communication bandwidth control command of the print job. The bandwidth restriction for the print job communication according to claim 1. The use restriction according to claim 1 (d) when the bandwidth is restricted for the print job communication by the bandwidth restriction means. The bandwidth control notification means for notifying the network controller of the release of the communication bandwidth control of the print job, and the bandwidth control notification means for canceling the bandwidth limitation when the bandwidth control notification means is notified. (Means to remove restrictions)
In the device usage restriction processing unit described with reference to FIG. 19, an example of usage restriction means when the task with the highest load is determined as “network processing task” in S5503 will be described.

  FIG. 20 shows an example of a correspondence table between each task and a device strongly related to the load of the task. The task ID in the task column 5601 is searched according to the task / device correspondence table of FIG. 20, and the task ID of the network processing task 5611 is found. It can be determined that the load input source device of the device column 5602 corresponding to the task ID 5611 is the network I / F (5612). Further, a processing function (5613) for restricting use of the corresponding device in the restriction start function sequence 5603 in FIG. 20 and a processing function (5614) for canceling the restriction are registered in the control release function sequence 5604. When the use restriction is applied to the network I / F, a function (5613) for instructing the network controller (hereinafter referred to as NIC) to instruct the bandwidth limitation of the print job communication is executed, and the bandwidth limitation is started. . When the restriction is started, a flag (5615) is set for the restricted task in the restricted flag column 5605. When the restriction is released, the corresponding function of the restriction release function sequence (5604) is executed for the task for which this flag is set, the restriction is released, and the flag is cleared.

  FIG. 21 shows an example of instructing the bandwidth limitation to the device driver that controls the network controller.

The band limitation start function 5701 corresponds to the function registered in the limitation start column 5603 in FIG.
The band limitation release function 5702 corresponds to the function registered in the limitation release column 5604 in FIG.

  The bandwidth limitation start function 5701 instructs the device driver 5703 to start bandwidth limitation in the bandwidth set for the communication of the communication port number of the print job. An example of band limitation information notified from the limitation start function 5701 to the device driver 5703 is a table indicated by 5710.

  The bandwidth limitation information includes information such as EtherType (5711), Protocol number (5712), Port number (5713), and bandwidth limitation (5714).

  The network driver 5703 performs bandwidth control settings for the NIC 5704 according to the instructed protocol type and bandwidth, and performs bandwidth control for the print job communication protocol. There are various known methods for discarding packets at the time of bandwidth control, such as randomly discarding packets at a fixed rate. However, since this embodiment is not based on a bandwidth control method, this level of explanation is explained. However, I will omit specific details.

<Description of overall configuration of this method>
FIG. 22 illustrates the main configuration and overall control flow in the characterizing portion of this embodiment.

The CPU load state determination unit is a processing part that determines whether the CPU load is a high load or a normal load, as described above with reference to FIG. The same thing corresponds to 6001 in FIG. As described above with reference to FIG. 16, the CPU load state determination unit 6001 compares the CPU load (L2) measured last time with the CPU load (L1) measured this time based on the recording of the measurement result 6003, and the load state is determined. Determine if it has transitioned.
Further, as described above with reference to FIG. 19, regarding the device use restriction processing unit, when the CPU load state determination unit 6001 notifies that the CPU is heavily loaded, the load input corresponding to the task with the most load is applied. This is the processing part that performs restrictions on the source device. 22 corresponds to 6002 in FIG. 22, FIG. 18 of the task management table corresponds to 6004 in FIG. 22, and device control table FIG. 20 corresponds to 6005 in FIG.

  As described above, when the device usage restriction processing unit 6002 is notified by the CPU load state determination unit 6001 that the state has changed to a high load, the task management table 6004 is referenced to determine the task with the highest load. .

  Using the ID of the task with the highest load as a key, a function for limiting the device that is the load input source of the corresponding task is called with reference to the device control table 6005, the limit start processing unit 6006 operates, and the corresponding device 6008 Control is performed to limit When the CPU load state determination unit 6001 notifies the device usage restriction processing unit 6002 that the normal load has been changed, the device control table 6005 is referenced to search for a device that is undergoing restriction processing, and the restriction of the corresponding device is detected. The release function is called, and the restriction release processing unit 6007 operates to control the corresponding device to release the restriction.

  By continuously determining the CPU load and controlling the load cause device in this way, when the CPU is in a high load state, the task having the highest load is found, and the device serving as an input source of the load of the task By specifying the device and restricting the use of the device, the input load is reduced, and the load of the high-load task is reduced. As a result, the CPU is prevented from being overloaded.

1 is a block configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a digital multi-function peripheral as a data processing apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is an internal configuration diagram of a digital multi-function peripheral. It is a block block diagram which shows the detail of the controller part as an electronic component concerning this invention. It is a block block diagram which shows the detail of a main controller. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation unit 150. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a document reading setting screen in “continuous reading mode”. It is a figure which shows the example of a reading image confirmation screen. It is a flowchart of a continuous reading copy process. It is a flowchart of a document reading process. It is a flowchart of a stored image confirmation (preview) process. It is a figure which shows the software structure inside a control apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of a job control part. It is a figure which shows the management structure of a document management part. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a copy job. FIG. FIG. 6 is an excerpt of the relationship with a document management unit that is executing a copy job. It is a flowchart of a CPU load state determination process. It is a figure which shows the example of a task management table. It is a figure which shows the example of the running ratio list | wrist of a task. It is a flowchart of a device use restriction process. It is a figure which shows the example of a device control table. It is a figure which shows the example which instruct | indicates a bandwidth limitation to the device driver of NIC. It is a main block diagram of judgment of a CPU load state and the entire device usage restriction process.

Claims (3)

An image forming apparatus capable of printing out image data obtained by converting data received from an external device,
(a) CPU load state determining means for determining whether the load state of the CPU is normal load or high load;
(b) Task running ratio recording means for recording the running ratio of each task,
(c) When it is detected by the CPU load state determination means of (a) that the transition to the high load state is detected, the task load ratio recording means of (b) above causes the input load cause of the task with the highest travel ratio as To restrict the use of devices
(d) an image forming apparatus comprising: a means for canceling the use restriction performed in (c) when it is detected by the CPU load state determination means in (a) that the CPU has shifted to a normal load state . A bandwidth control notification means for notifying a network controller of a communication bandwidth control command for a print job when the task detected by the high load task detection means according to claim 1 is a network processing task, the bandwidth control The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit that limits a bandwidth for print job communication according to the instructed bandwidth when the notification unit notifies the start of the bandwidth limitation. As a means for canceling the use restriction according to claim 1 (d) when the bandwidth restriction is performed for the communication of the print job by the means for restricting the bandwidth according to claim 2, a network controller is provided. A bandwidth control notification means for notifying the release of the communication band control of the print job, and a means for releasing the bandwidth limit for the communication of the print job when the bandwidth control notification means is notified of the release of the bandwidth limit by the bandwidth control notification means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

Images